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Experts from the University of California, Davis, are available to media to discuss the drought and water-supply issues affecting California.

DROUGHT AND WILDFIRES Wildfire, climate and plant communities

Mark Schwartz, director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment, can discuss the impact of climate change on wildfires, as well as where and when plant communities are predicted to exhibit stress as a consequence of unusual climatic conditions, including wildfire. His work to help better predict fire behavior and forest vulnerabilities informs decisions about fire management, including prescribed fire, fuels reduction, and management responses to wildfire events. Contact: Mark Schwartz, John Muir Institute of the Environment, (530) 752-0671, mwschwartz@ucdavis.edu.

WOODLAND - Woodland residents will soon be receiving a letter telling them the level of Chromium Six --a known carcinogen -- will be higher than the new state standard for drinking water.

Should they be worried?

"Our concentration is above the new limit. We're just letting you know. And it's not an immediate health risk of any kind," Woodland Principal Utilities Engineer Tim Busch said. "It's not a notice of violation. The state does know we are in construction with a solution already."

That solution is a new $228 million Surface Water Project, a filtration plant that will draw Sacramento River water starting in May or June of 2016.

The federal government requires Chromium Six levels to be at or below 100 parts per billion. The allowable California state level, which formerly stood at 50 parts per billion was changed to 10 parts per billion in 2014.

Community Business Bank announces that it now ranks even higher on the list of Top 200 Healthiest Banks in America developed by DepositAccounts, an online publication focused on banking and savings information for consumers.

The 2015 list ranks Community Business Bank sixth in the nation - up two spots from 2014. The bank is one of only 49 out of nearly 7,000 federally insured banks to be listed in the top ten percent for the second straight year.

“We are very pleased to again be nationally recognized as one of the top 10 healthiest institutions across the U.S.,” said John DiMichele, CEO, Community Business Bank. “The fact that we have been ranked even higher on the list this year speaks to the dedication of our staff and directors, as well as to our commitment to the communities we serve.”

Like many Americans, Alex Hernandez lost his home and his job in the aftermath of the recession. The former contractor, now truck driver, has four kids, and his paycheck goes to them.

Hernandez lives in a four-bedroom apartment with his family in a Woodland complex, but it's not like the other apartment buildings -- this one is 100 percent solar powered.

That means big savings for Hernandez and everyone else who lives here.

"I went from 257 bucks a month to $7," Hernandez said. "And, I have my A/C on all day!"

Sounds too good to be true, but it's not. It's called Mutual Housing at Spring Lake. It's a community built specifically for low-income farm workers and their families. Their rent is reduced, and so is the utility bill thanks to solar panels built on the rooftops.

R. Paul Singh, a distinguished professor emeritus who has held dual appointments in the departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis, has been named as the 2015 Global Confederation for Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences World Agriculture Prize laureate... Read More

Davis police sent an alert Tuesday afternoon warning parents that teenagers were abusing a popular cold remedy that didn't require a prescription to buy. Several Davis middle school students were already contacted after using the drug.

"Triple C" contains dextromethorphan (DXM) that, when taken in large doses, produces hallucinations and a sense of dissociation similar to those experienced with PCP or ketamine, according to police.

"They take pills by the handful, sometimes three to six, sometimes more," Davis Police School Resource Officer Keirith Briesenick said. "It's like being drunk; it's a dissociate hallucinogenic state where they kind of stop feeling."

Davis Beer Week was canceled Monday afternoon, but by Monday evening it was back on schedule.

Henry de Vere White, owner of de Vere's Irish Pub and founder of Davis Beer Fest said initially he decided to cancel the event until he and other vendors had the appropriate clarification of the Alcohol Beverage Control rules.

"It's definitely not about ABC not wanting these events. That's not it at all," de Vere White said. "I want to have a good relationship with them, and I do have a good relationship with them. I just could not do it with the same level of involvement with the way the current laws are understood."

So, organizers updated the event's Facebook and website to say the event would be canceled.